075 Misjudgments
The background is dark green. ; Panel 1 The background of this panel is an extremely bright, washed-out reddish orange. Zane squeezes his eyes shut and slams the drawer closed, motion lines by his arm indicating how fast it moved. He cries out, "No," in text that's several times larger than the usual size. The force of the slam is expressed by a jagged line that looks like it's hovering over the drawer and the word "slam." The phone's transmitter and several papers fly in the air comically, and the main part of the phone is knocked off its base, teetering to the side. Zane is sweating heavily, and his mouth is open. A haze of light blue is still visible near the top of the closed drawer. ; Panel 2. Zane, shaking, sweating and actually crying, picks up the phone and the transmitter again as Dr. Angstrom says "Wadsworth? This is Dr. Angstrom again. Are you all right?" Zane replies in large text, "Young Maddy!! She's here! I -- I just closed a drawer on her!" The background is dark greenish-blue once more, with papers tacked to the walls behind Zane. ; Panel 3. Dr. Angstrom replies, "Mr. Zane, calm down. You must remind yourself that this *hysteria* manifests itself in you *differently* than --" A close-up of Zane's face as he angrily cuts off Dr. Angstrom, holding the receiver close to his mouth and glaring at it. He says in large text, "It's not hysteria! I know what I'm seeing! It's the pattern!" He is still shaking and sweating heavily, and a large tear spills out of the corner of one eye. ; Panel 4. Dr. Angstrom replies, "Mr. Zane, I'm sorry... It was a misjudgment to give your treatment this much *latitude*..." Zane replies, "My *treatment*?! I thought I wasn't your *patient*. I thought you were helping a *friend.*" He is still shaking, sweating and crying, a large tear running down one cheek. Still very frightened, he looks down at the closed drawer, moving the transmitter away from his face. Behind him is Virgil's bed, with a stack of papers and an open book covering a bloodstain on it. The door beyond the bed is wide open. ; Panel 5. Dr. Angstrom looks concerned as he holds the phone to his ear. He is using a more modern kind of phone, with a piece that combines the transmitter and receiver. He answers "Wadsworth -- you *must* examine your condition *dispassionately* --" Iris is standing behind him, listening in. Her body language is subdued, and she has large bags under her eyes and a bit of a frown. The background of this panel is a turquoise blue that is significantly brighter than the dark greenish blue panels set in Virgil's room. ; Panel 6. Dr. Angstrom continues, "Wadsworth? Wadsworth?" The reader sees that Virgil's phone has been set on the desk, the transmitter lying to its side with part of its cord covered by the base of the phone. The sound of Dr. Angstrom's voice is represented by short straight lines and short zigzag lines coming from the receiver. The desk is still covered with papers and books, and the dresser is still closed.